Glisten and Glow! Your Countdown to Holiday Skin

It’s only October, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about getting ready for the holidays! Below, NDDA’s three-stage guide to getting the glow. Pick the date of your most important party (or winter vacation) and work backwards using the suggested treatment time frames. Think of this as your personal training plan for the largest organ of your body . . .

Phase One: Even out texture and tone

Beautiful looking skin starts deep. If you haven’t made the investment in a smooth, makeup-ready surface, no amount of skillful makeup application will hide damaged skin. And worse, concealing makeup will act as another thick dulling layer, accentuating signs of aging. Cut to the root of the problem and pep up your skin’s surface first, then use minimal makeup to correct, not overhaul, your skin’s appearance.

Treatment: Laser Resurfacing or Microneedling

Time to start: 12-weeks out

To get the best texture and tone, you need three months of targeted treatment to undo summer damage and reveal brighter, healthier layers of skin. Pair a series of fractional laser resurfacing, photofractional laser or microneedling treatments to get rid of brown spots, soften fine lines and even out skin for flawless makeup later. We recommend a series of two- to three- sessions for each.

Each of these treatments work to stimulate collagen production and reduce pore size, by creating micro-injuries to the skin. They stimulate a healing response that in turn increases the skin’s elastic and collagen production, preventing fine lines from deepening and giving skin a more radiant look. Optimal results are achieved in about three months, so do this one first.

Phase Two: Give your face a lift

Skip the fancy department store products this year. There is no magic cream in a bottle, but good skin care backed by science is always necessary to protect your investment and help maintain your results at home. The best solutions for “lifting” or “firming” skin come outside of the bottle. Luckily, a whole array of treatments, from botox to fillers to combinations of the two, are primed to deliver real results. And the best news is that these treatments are highly customizable. You can opt for anything, from dramatically different to subtly smoothing results.

Treatment: The Liquid Facelift

Time to start: 6-weeks out

Most doctors use the term “liquid facelift” to refer to a combination of products like Botox, used in small amounts to relax facial muscles responsible for creating wrinkles, and injectable fillers with hyaluronic acid, used to fill and replace the naturally occurring substance in your skin. How these products are combined and delivered is personalized to your individual needs. The main goal is to erase years from the face by lifting and filling out sagging skin or sallow areas while minimizing or erasing lines that drag the face down, like marionette lines and crow’s feet. Scheduling this service now will give you the best results by the end of December.

Phase Three: Buff and smooth skin

Get ready for smoother skin! If you weren’t born with perfect pore-free skin, you don’t have to live without it anymore. One of the best ways to resurface skin delivers results that are almost as effective as laser treatments. Finish up your pre-holiday skin workout with some last-minute skin smoothing to minimize any old acne scars or other skin depressions.

Red Carpet Peel Treatment: Microdermabrasion + Glycolic Series

Time to start: 1 to 3-weeks out

Microdermabrasion paired with a glycolic acid peel provides gentle exfoliation to get rid of dead cells to give your skin a healthy glow. Results are immediate, so save this one for last.